All hail Elon Musk, First of his Name, King of the Martians and the First Molemen, Protector of Tubes, the Unbalded, Breaker of Industries. And now, maybe, uniter of the seven continents, if his plan for rocket travel takes off.

Musk, the man who would take humans between planets like the Dothraki crossing the Narrow Sea, has added another dash of wildfire to his plans for saving the world. During a presentation at the the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia, on Friday, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO announced his plan to use a fleet of reusable rockets to move people between any two cities on Earth in under an hour.

OK, “plan” is a stretch. Musk didn’t go into any of the details, like when he might do this, or where, or how. A short video he played on stage (gotta hope he has got his renderings guy on retainer) showed passengers boarding a ship and sailing out to a floating launch pad. They stroll into a rocket, which blasts off, hits nearly 17,000 mph in suborbital space, reenters the atmosphere, and touches down again. Then it’s back onto a boat and into the destination city. London to Dubai in 29 minutes. New York to Paris in 30. Delhi to San Francisco in 40. The world has never felt so small, so connected.

“It’s a great, fantastic thought,” says John Olds, a former aerospace engineering professor who founded and now runs Spaceworks, a company that develops hypersonic flight and space exploration technology. Olds also helped form and previously ran the FastForward Project, an industry group focused on point-to-point space travel.

“A rocket-powered ballistic point-to-point is fast, I’ll give you that,” Olds says. “But it’s expensive and complicated and, I would say, unlikely to be the final solution by which we travel around the planet.”

Let’s say Musk nails down all the rocket tech and ensures the things can take off and land safely 100 percent of the time, or acceptably close to it. Let’s say he figures out how to keep them full of fuel, and puts enough people in electric cars that he’s not destroying the atmosphere.

Then he gets to tackle the real problems. Like how to get passengers through the crushing g-forces that come with takeoff and landing. The weightless period in the middle may be cool, but it’s not exactly a work environment business travelers will enjoy. Running anything more than the occasional flight would require an unprecedented integration with the national airspace system, to keep the rockets from taking out planes the way planes take out birds. “From a regulatory point of view it’s very difficult,” Olds says.

Building launch pads at sea assuages concerns about annoying city dwellers with the noise, sonic booms, and vibrations that come with hurling rockets into the sky, but brings up another concern. The flight itself may be brief, but forcing customers to get to the ocean in the first place could easily add hours to trip time. And it’s hard to see rockets serving any major city that’s not near an ocean or lake, like Paris, Berlin, New Delhi, Denver, Riyadh, or Johannesburg.

“I would like to see this development mesh with existing infrastructure,” like airports, says Madhu Thangavelu, who studies space exploration at the University of Southern California. “Then it becomes much easier to put safety protocols in place.” Otherwise, Thangavelu is jazzed about the idea, and Musk’s role in pushing the limits of what people may think is possible. “The moment you master it, you’ll have a lineup of customers,” he says. “I can’t wait to see this happen.”

It would be a wonderful thing, no doubt. Same goes for the high-speed hyperloop, electric cars for everyone, life on Mars, a base on the moon, or a network of traffic-annihilating tunnels. But if Musk really wants to add another honorific to his list of titles, rockets may not be the best move.

Imagine having a couple extra hours of free time a day. Wouldn’t it be nice. Work-life balance would shift favorably, you’d be more relaxed and you’d probably love your job more. But wait, you might say, if I work less I’d get less done and my boss will really not be happy and my performance will fall and I’ll get fired and…. Wrong. The myth of the 8-hour workday. Here is the core misconception that makes so many of us unhappy. Working eight to 12 hours a day will not give you better results, it’ll just wear you down and…

Just a days after Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. announced plans to deliver food via drone on the Virginia Tech campus, footage of what might be a lunch delivery has surfaced online.

Jacob Demmit of the Roanoke Times captured what he says is footage of a drone delivering a package on campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. The clip, shot on Monday, shows a drone lowering a package by string into the middle of a field. After the package detaches from the drone, a pair of people retrieve it.

As Bloomberg reports, Google’s parent company has partnered with Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. and Virginia Tech to make the experiment a reality. The Federal Aviation Administration-approved deliveries are part of Alphabet Inc.’s Project Wing, which looks ahead to the future of drone delivery services. Read more…

About 1,700 customers have already deployed NSX as an on-premises network virtualization platform. At some point in the future (VMware executives will not say when) the company will allow customers to deploy NSX across multiple different cloud providers. The idea is customers can centrally manage their on premises and public cloud resources within NSX. How exactly will this work?

Shanghai-based workplace collaboration platform Teambition announced this week that it has raised $ 12 million in Series B funding from investors including NLVC, IDG, Vangoo Capital, and Gobi Partners.

Teambition is an online platform that allows for workplace collaboration on things like events, tasks, posts, and cloud-based file libraries. Immediate comparisons that come to mind include Planner, Asana, Basecamp, Wunderlist, Trello, Slack, Jive, Dropbox, Google for Work, and even Microsoft 365.

This Series B round brings Teambition’s total funding to date to $ 17 million — it previously raised a $ 5 million Series A in December last year, and was, ironically, a 2013 graduate of Microsoft Ventures Accelerator program in Beijing. The company declined to comment on valuation.

The money will be used to further build out its existing freemium model, expand sales efforts, diversify the team, and hire more global talent from outside China. It also plans to adapt and customize the product “to what specific industries need to collaborate.”

Above: Qi Junyuan

Teambition’s chief executive, Junyuan Qi, a 2012 graduate in management information systems from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, told VentureBeat he is confident of strong traction in China going forward, but is also looking to grow internationally.

To that end, the company recently hired Paris-based Florian Monfort to head up international growth. Monfort, who has experience at companies like Dropbox and LibreOffice, will be moving to Shanghai in the coming weeks.

“If you think about services available on the Market today, they are mostly separate and/or bundled,” Monfort told VentureBeat. “This is as close as we get to any form of integration and interaction between each collaboration function.”

“We tackle this by creating an application that has the primary features those services provides, all integrated into one app. This means one account that everybody can use without having to jump between services and apps all the time,” he added.

Teambition is available on both Android and iOS, but also Mac and Windows. Here’s a further breakdown of some of the key functionality it offers, as laid out in the product description:

Tasks — On Task Board, you can share project progress with your colleagues straightforwardly, break tasks down to sub-tasks, add attachments and deadline. And all of these can be discussed in real-time .

Posts — You can share your ideas and knowledge with other members on Post Wall. All the posts are editable, and all the involved members will be noticed when the posts are updated. We also provide a Chrome add-on to help you sharing posts easier.

File library — As convenient as Dropbox, File Library is where to share documents with your colleagues and keep them updated. Each shared document can be discussed specifically. And best of all, Teambition File Library offers unlimited storage.

Events — Arrange a meeting and invite members to participate, and start online discussion on Teambition Events. We offer a subscription link which you can subscribe to your calendar app.

But to gain popularity and grow beyond China — clearly something that is playing on the company’s mind, now more than ever — it will need to persuade both free and paying users that it can be trusted with their data. As of now, all of its servers are still based inside mainland China, and that might not sit comfortably with everyone.

Monfort offers an example of how a developer who’s doing some programming based on a task on the platform may benefit.

“The task has some content linked to it: a design file, a post, and an event,” he said. “We let people link content, not only files. People can link to a task Teambition posts, events, or other tasks. Now, every time the designer will change the mock-ups, the developer will receive a notification in this task saying something has been updated.”

“This means at the end of the day, everybody works on the same content and items, in the search for a precise goal defined by the project itself. No need for extra services, everything you need is in there. We also put an extreme emphasis on mobile. Being China based, we evolve in a market where mobile and apps dominate,” he added.

In its home market, the company faces the strongest competition in its space from local players, including Worktile, Tower, and Mingdao. As of now, the only number it’s sharing is users, which stand at 500,000, as of August. It declined to comment on revenue or China market share.

Ultimately, Teambition sees Microsoft 365 as its single biggest competitor globally — Monfort believes the Redmond-based giant has moved forward by leaps and bounds on the productivity front under Satya Nadella’s leadership.

“This has made it a bit more difficult today, though I also believe that our value proposition sets us apart enough that we can feed on different pies,” he concluded.

Bringing in more integration with existing players is something that the company may consider going forward, but for now it wants to focus on creating a solid user experience — and not risk sacrificing that by stretching its “limited resources” too thin.

If you’re a China tech watcher, these guys are probably worth keeping on your radar.

For years Mike Rowe has been traveling across the country to meet people whose laborious, often thankless work keeps the world moving forward. And across different shows and different television networks, what has remained consistent is Mike’s sincere curiosity and willingness to learn.

Getting into business is easy. All that need be done is decide to start doing business. Like most decisions that are made without much planning or thought, forming an enterprise without a small investment of money and time in the beginning, and maybe looking at Company formations online, can result in some severely negative financial consequences in the long run.

Often an opportunity to make a profit is recognized, and taken advantage of. This is how free enterprise works. With limited experience in business matters people may not have the sophistication to foresee some risks.

Often new businesses are inadequately funded so available funds are put to the most productive uses possible. There in little desire to see them spent on legal fees. Cutting that corner though is not a wise way to try and save money. It most likely will result in loss of much more money.

If no form of business is chosen the law will choose one for you. If you are operating the business alone you will be considered a sole proprietor, if with others you will be deemed general partners. The only advantages of these two entity forms are that no fees need be paid and no agreements need to be drafted.

Otherwise they are the worst possible options you could choose. Owners of these entities have unlimited liability for everything the business, or any of the partners does. That means that if the business is sued for say some negligent act then each owner can be liable personally for the total amount of the judgment, except for a limited amount of exempt property. Future earnings can be taken to satisfy the judgment as well.

For this reason investigate Company formations online at the beginning of your business formation. You will probably be relieved to find out how little money needs to be spent. You will also rest easier knowing that everything you own is not at risk in your venture.

For those people out there who are needing to learn more on companies house company formation, we are here to help you out. This company formation is needed.

With gradual acceptance on an international level, offshore company formations have become an accepted way of doing business with substantial benefits. This includes tax benefits, with the freedom and privacy to operate without regulatory compliance needs. All these combine to offer a distinct advantage over the locally registered competitors.

Incorporation is still easy and very cheap too. That’s why a business registered in tax havens like the British Virgin Islands or Seychelles has a leg up right from the start. It can plough back tax savings into the business, while its competitors in the US and Europe struggle to break-even after taxes.

For those who need financial privacy, there are countries where the banking system is primed to accept funds under a veil of secrecy. Incorporation in countries like Lichtenstein helps keep funds secure and the owner of the business out of the picture. It goes without saying that in this case too, there will be considerable savings in taxes.

There’s no need to worry about regulations governing employees. A lot of these federal and state laws don’t apply, so employees can usually be hired and fired as required. Contractors and temps can be used without putting them on the payroll, so there are no overheads or work issues due to employee unions or benefit payments.

The same applies for reporting to regulatory authorities, which the business can safely ignore for the most part. One big advantage is that the incorporated entity won’t need to show a large equity investment. Whatever assets it does have will be protected from lawsuits and local creditors in locations where the business has suffered failure.

Offshore company formations can cut through the bureaucratic red-tape and heavy taxation, leaving the business free to operate and grow. On the other hand, lack of oversight sometimes lets companies flirt with things that are borderline wrong. The sum of it is that it is a powerful weapon, but has to be used wisely.

Company formation online is easy and fast when you understand what you are doing. You may want to retain a good accounting service to track your financial transactions.

As society becomes more and more litigious, offshore company formations have become commensurately more desirable. These formations draw businessmen who choose to incorporate their companies in a country other than their own. Easy to establish the advantages, other than restricting legal liability, include greater protection for assets and privacy, plus a lower tax rate.

Although usually more lenient than a home country, there are certain formalities that must be adhered to that are dictated by the host country. In general, these include naming at least one person who has been designated to lead the business. Appointing a Registered Agent who resides within the host country with an address of record is also mandated.

As all countries are different, so too are the laws governing foreign enterprises within their borders. It is therefore incumbent upon the owner to research the legalities of each prospective country prior to initiating any set-up process. Engaging a consulting firm with expertise in offshore formations is an option as well. There are a number of these firms listed on the Internet.

How one chooses to formulate their business strategy in this manner is generally determined by the size of the assets needing protection and the distance desired from any legal encroachment. The larger the asset pool and need for privacy, the more layered the offshore presence that is recommended. The basics encompass a private enterprise with an associated bank account in a foreign territory.

The greater the amount of assets to be protected, the more strategic additions that may need to be employed. This includes adding an office to the bank account, as well as forming a corporation with its inherent limited liability features. Rising higher in the asset category usually involves establishing a trust company. The South Pacific Cook Island chain is considered the best location for this type of highly secure protection.

Many of the islands in the Caribbean, such as Nevis, Belize and the British Virgin Islands are considered some of the best countries for offshore company formations. Panama and the island of Samoa are listed in the top five as well.

Get the exclusive low down on facts about offshore company formation online now in our comprehensive overview of how and where to find top accounting service providers.

What do you know about promoting a business using social media sites like Twitter? If you’re like most people, marketing is probably all new to you and you likely don’t know much about how to use the site to make money. And if you have tried your hand at it, there’s a good chance you’ve come up against a host of frustrating issues associated with it. For many marketers, the major stumbling block in the process is usually the result of the fact that marketers are trying to use Twitter to make money in the same way they use it to connect with friends and family. That approach won’t work.

To be truly triumphant in the world of social media marketing, it’s not going to work to sit on your laurels and wait for your followers to find you. With social use of Twitter, it’s perfectly fine to amass followers sporadically as they come to you — in fact that’s the way of life. You meet people every now and again, right? That’s the same with social networking. But if you try to market your business like that your marketing strategy will lose its potency before you get enough followers to make your pitch to.

With every promotions plan, it’s important to understand that there’s a definite lifespan. During the plan’s infancy and youth, it has the most vibrancy and energy. As it matures and ages, it loses more and more of its oomph very quickly. Ensure you get your followers in place before your plan reaches middle age. Otherwise, you’ll lose money and followers very quickly.

OK, so you know that you need to get followers, lots of them, the right kind, and quickly. How do you do that?? It’s not like you can just go out there and oh, I don’t know, buy Twitter followers, right? Wait! Actually you can do that very thing. Thanks to web promotions specialists uSocial.net has developed a new social media marketing services designed to help businesses make money by allowing them to buy Twitter followers. They’ve eliminated the hassle of trying to seek out followers altogether.

It seems that Twitter has become a part of everyone’s social lives these days, and that reality offers up a great opportunity for business owners to get out the word about their businesses. It’s not easy, but fortunately there’s help on the horizon in the form of uSocial.net. They have developed a service that is designed expressly to help businesses to market their businesses on Twitter, by allowing them to purchase followers instead of having to waste time searching for them.

Learn how to buy Twitter followers today. Get the information you need on where to buy Twitter followers from right this source.

Nowadays, in order to make money from home, you need to implement a myriad of marketing techniques. The good news is that we know what works, and what does not. One technique which does work is social media marketing. While there are several venues upon which social media marketing can be executed, the focus of this article will be upon a platform which goes by the name of “Squidoo”.

So just what is Squidoo? Well, Squidoo is a Web 2.0 platform which enables individuals to create their own web page based upon a particular theme. Every web page is referred to as a “lens” due to the fact that it focuses on a specific topic. Users compose lenses in accordance with their topic of interest.

For the make money from home entrepreneur, Squidoo has some major benefits. We will discuss these benefits below.

1. Forums are a great place to demonstrate your expertise. In particular, your task is to search the Squidoo Forums in the area of your lens topic. Look for people who are in search of answers, and provide them with your expertise by answering their questions. Other forum visitors will find your posts. This is why it is essential that in each answer which you provide, you also add a link to your lens in the signature field.

2. As you are probably well aware, there are other Web 2.0 platforms. The good news is that many of these platforms can work in synergy with Squidoo to promote your lens. For example, Reddit, Propeller, Facebook, Delicious, StumbleUpon, and Twitter all are high traffic platforms which can drive traffic to your lens. Just make sure that you do not spam these networks otherwise they will close your account.

3. Did you know that there are actually directories which were created specifically for Web 2.0 content? We all know that there exist several directories for articles, such as EzineArticle, GoArticles, Article Dashboard, Idea Marketers, etc. However, for the Web 2.0 world, a couple of the more popular directories are Squoogle and Lensroll. Submitting your lenses to these directories will increase the probability that your lenses will become ranked in the search engines.

4. You will undoubtedly come across other lenses which are in your niche market. What you want to do is find the most popular lenses, and find a way to make them link to your lens. How do you pull something like that off? No problem. Make a comment on their lens in the comment section. However, you want your comment to be compelling enough that visitors who see is are motivated to check out your lens.

5. If you are somewhat familiar with Squidoo, you might be aware of the fact that they have a “Squidoo Lens of the Day”. Specifically, Squidoo administrators select one lens each day to highlight for its uniqueness. You can learn a lot from these lenses. Hence, it is in your best interest as a marketer to see what it is that they did to stand out, and implement those strategies in your own lens. If the lens relates to the subject matter of your lens, this is a great opportunity to add a comment and obtain a link.

There you have it. It is clear that Squidoo is a valuable tool for those of us who make money from home. Make sure that you utilize several internet marketing techniques, including Squidoo marketing.

Web 2.0 is something that you should add to your marketing strategy if you plan to Make Money From Home. One of your top Web 2.0 resources is Squidoo. Countless online marketers have taken steps to Earn Money Online have done so because of Squidoo. Drop by and see us at SOSComplete.com